DA Davidson analyst Brent Thielman lowered his price target on Martin Marietta to $200 and kept his Neutral rating, also lowering his FY18 EPS view to $8.74 from $9.35 and FY19 view to $10.63 from $11.50. The analyst cites the "anticipated weather-related headwinds in the quarter", particularly in Texas and also the select Midwest/Mid-Atlantic markets. Thielman adds that along with the project delays in related territories and the increases in variable costs, his prior forecasts were likely "too optimistic".

10/17/18

BOFA

10/17/18DOWNGRADEBOFANeutral

Martin Marietta downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill

10/17/18

BOFA

10/17/18DOWNGRADETarget $179BOFANeutral

Martin Marietta downgraded to Neutral at BofA/Merrill

As previously reported, BofA/Merrill downgraded Martin Marietta to Neutral from Buy and cut its price target to $179 from 225. Analyst Timna Tanners thinks increased hurricane activity and unusually heavy rains have contributed to disappointing volumes and a lower multiple is more appropriate given lack of catalysts and concerns the US construction cycle is nearing a peak.

10/29/18

NOMU

10/29/18INITIATIONTarget $220NOMUBuy

Martin Marietta initiated with a Buy at Nomura Instinet

Nomura Instinet analyst Michael Wood started Martin Marietta with a Buy rating and $220 price target. The analyst prefers Martin Marietta in the aggregates industry based on improving spending in Texas, which he believes will drive better pricing power and resulting margin leverage. He sees 36% potential upside from current share levels.

Morningstar last night reported Q4 earnings per share of 99c, up from 91c a year ago, on revenue of $262.7M, up 8.1% from last year. "Morningstar reached a significant milestone in 2018, surpassing $1 billion in revenue for the first time," said Kunal Kapoor, Morningstar's CEO in the earnings statement. "This achievement resulted from putting investors first and providing exceptional experiences that support better investor outcomes. While the late 2018 downturn in global markets impacted net flows and asset growth in Morningstar Managed Portfolios, we experienced record flows into the ETFs built on Morningstar Indexes." Morningstar said market volatility negatively impacted net flows into Morningstar Managed Portfolios and impacted overall assets in Morningstar Investment Management and Workplace Solutions, particularly in Q4. Assets under management and advisement in Managed Portfolios increased by $1.2B in 2018 and were relatively flat year over year in Workplace Solutions. Morningstar.com premium subscriptions did not meet the company's expectations for growth in 2018, the company admitted. "We recently refreshed the Morningstar.com website and plan additional improvements in 2019," it noted. Shares of Morningstar are down 2%, or $2.62, to $124.60 in early trading.

Terex (TEX) delaying its earnings release led to considerable speculation on possible acquisitions, Baird analyst Mircea Dobre told investors earlier in research note. The analyst believes Astec Industries' (ASTE) "unique circumstances" and "apparent strategic fit" within the Terex portfolio "are worth contemplating." Astec would add asphalt plants, with leading market share in North America, as well a mobile pavers to Terex's Materials Processing segment, Dobre points out. Further, the addition of Astec could give Terex room to potentially altogether divest Crane down the line, with the proceeds used to reduce the leverage resulted from the acquisition, the analyst adds. Regarding the "unique circumstances," Dobre notes Astec's s CEO Ben Brock resigned on January 22, its shareholders have been pushing for improved performance, and that the activist investor on Terex's board was an Astec shareholder. Should Terex pay a multiple for Astec in-line with historical median transaction valuations in the space, it would imply a 27% premium to Astec's current price or $50 per share, according to Dobre. Shares of Astec are up 44c to $39.89 in early trading while Terex is down 3c to $35.54.